A Dark Day: Part XII

I make my way to the sunroof and bust it out with my feet. The rain seems to start coming down as I make the opening. With my spear in hand I climb out on top of the vehicle and within what it seems like to be minutes the group doubled in size. I need to make my move now if I plan to get away. I take two steps back, run and completely slip off the top of the SUV. Its as if its all happening in slow motion. As I'm falling the only words I can think of to sum up this situation is "Oh shit". I look and I can see the section of zombies I'm about to fall on slowly start looking up towards me. Without even a moment more to react I fall straight down onto a group of at least five of them smashing their heads in the process. You would think I fell on a pit of hot coals as fast as I got up off the floor and ran. As I run I realize that of course I dropped and left my spear when I fell. It was nothing but a stupid stick anyway. I look back and of course the group of zombies are heading my way......at an alarmingly slow speed. I start to slow my running down to a brisk walk and look around for something to use against these things. If I hide then they're just going to find me eventually and then I'll be backed into a corner. I can see a sign for an italian restaurant in the distance. They have to have something there. I get to the restaurant and enter carefully. Its dark as hell in here so it takes a little while for my eyes to adjust. This place looks just like the city itself, run down and destroyed. There's tables flipped, chairs broken and menus scattered across the floor along with dirt and silverware. I head back to the kitchen and I quickly spot a big propane tank. On second thought if I use this I might blow myself up too. Maybe if they have a smaller one around here then I could use that. I start looking through all the counters and cabinets. Jackpot! Got one! I head back outside with the tank in hand and I turn it on. The group has now gotten a lot closer. I would say roughly about twenty yards away. I throw the tank at the group of zombies and realize that I may have jumped ahead of myself seeing as I have nothing to ignite the tank with. I see a telephone company truck that crashed into a building across the street. I head over there and start busting open the storage compartments on the outside. I finally find a road side bag with flares. I light the flare a bask in its glow for a quick moment then send it soaring towards the open propane tank. The tank explodes right as soon as the flame gets close to the escaping fumes and sends the zombies soaring in the air and in pieces. I didn't really compensate the distance between me and the tank because even at a rough 20 yards away I still felt like I just got sucker punched when the tank went "kaboom". Pretty much knocked me on my ass. Well it did the job, they are all gone. I get up and walk over to the big black spot on the floor where the pack of undead used to be. All that's left is partially flaming and completely charred flesh on the floor. Almost smells like a barbecue only not. I better get going before the explosion attracts more of these things.

A Dark Day: Part XI

After careful and thorough inspection I found an abandoned SUV to stay in till the morning. This thing has a big enough backseat so that I can lie down and not be noticed for awhile. I get in ever so carefully and shut the back door very softly. I lie on my back and look up at the ceiling of the vehicle. Oh man, this feels so good to just rest for a moment. I don't think I can sleep but rest is exactly what I need. The more I lay here the more I think of things that could have been if the infection never happened. What would I be doing at this same exact moment if all of the scenario was changed? Would I be out having dinner? Would I be having drinks with the guys? What would be on T.V. at the moment? Probably some infomercial or something. Even that I miss. Does me no good to think of such things though since there's no turning back time. All that's on my mind and will continue to be on my mind is survival. That's my goal. I can hear the winds outside starting to pick up and howl. I guess there's a storm rolling in. I'm glad I found shelter when I did. The SUV starts to sway a little as the winds pass through. I need to find some food soon too, I think my body is starting to crash from the lack of nourishment. I can't even remember the last time I ate anything. I just know it was SPAM. I may have to tighten my belt another notch the way this is going. My stomach starts growling like its talking to me.
Man! That stupid place fucked up my sense of time! I had that to keep me sane at least, now I'm just lost. Oh well I guess, hopefully once the storm passes I can set up camp somewhere again. At least for the time being, for now I'm have to try to rest.
A while later........
Every time I try to close my eyes all I see is death. Is this what my life has become? Just nothing but death and killing and all this destruction around me? Of course it has, I have no choice but to live in this world. I would just end it all myself but that would be the cowards way out. I don't do "coward". I just can't sleep. I toss and turn but my mind keeps racing like its running the fifty yard dash. I finally just stop trying and lift my head to see out the window. I get a huge surprise when I see the vehicle that I'm in surrounded by the walking dead. They saw me! They fucking saw me get in this piece of shit! They knew! For some reason they are just standing there, in the middle of this storm they are just there looking at me. Seems like they're just waiting for me to get out. They know I'm going to have to get out eventually. I look around and notice a sunroof. That's my way out, I just need to figure out a game plan.

A Dark Day: Part X

I let them slowly walk away as I slowly follow behind. I figure if they're smart enough to get away they may be heading for an exit out of this place. I don't even know how long I've been here. Has it been a few hours? A day? A few days? Being here really screwed up my tally. Now I have absolutely no idea what day it is. Speaking of my tally, I wonder how camp is. I don't even think its smart enough to go back at this point. Its probably overrun with those things. Looks like I'm going to have to start all over collecting supplies again. Well I have a stick and a......damn it! I lost the scalpel! Ok, I have a stick. Well, I think I'm going to call it a spear. Spear just sounds more dangerous. I have a spear. Its a start I guess. Damn, these zombies walk slow. After following these dumbasses for what seems like forever they get to a door and push it open. Where the hell am I? I look around and it seems like some sort of alley. It looks like its dusk and really extremely quiet. I know I should be used to the silence but its just kind of eerie. The two zombies continue to shuffle away side by side. I have to use this chance to kill two birds with one stone so to speak. I run up behind them and with one swift swing of my spear aimed precisely at their necks I decapitate both zombies. Their heads fall to the ground and the bodies take another four steps each before falling to the ground as well. Now that that's taken care of I can figure out exactly where I am. I take a walk down the alley a bit more and into a street. I look around and I realize I'm back in the city. Oh my god, this place is destroyed. Its just so sad to see all these buildings and skyscrapers empty and deserted. Almost all the windows in every building are busted out and the streets are littered with "Do Not Cross" tape and barricades. The smell in the air is no longer that of pizza, hot dogs or even car emissions. All I smell now is almost a sterile smell, similar to what a hospital would smell like. I'm almost in tears. The city I once lived and worked in is now a shadow of its former self. I hadn't been back here since the initial infection and never intended to come back. All these memories and flashbacks hit me as I walk down the city streets that I can't even recognize anymore. Memories that I'd rather keep buried. I need to snap out of it and find a place to post up for the night. I don't trust any of these buildings at all. I may have to just find an abandoned car or something. The last thing I want to do is stay on these streets too long and be a sitting duck out here. I probably could've gone back to where I was before but I would be just as vulnerable as anywhere else and plus, I wanted out of that fucking place.

A Dark Day: Part IX

I don't know how long I've been standing here just staring at these things eat but its long enough for me to realize that these things can't stay alive.....or um, unalive for much longer. Not one zombie will be left standing. I look around the room for some sort of weapon but there's no luck. The closest thing to a weapon I found was a bucket. What the hell am I going to do with a bucket? I walk to the room across the hallway. Nothing in here but a pile of these bastards in the middle of the floor. The stench of death is a lot worse in this room than the others. Probably because these sons of bitches are just lying here rotting on top of one another. I scan the room quickly and I notice a mop leaning against the wall in the corner of the room. I walk over and grab it then break off the bottom, creating a spear-like weapon. That's about as good as its going to get right now. I start walking out of the room when I hear a noise coming from the pile of zombies. I turn back quickly and prepared to attack. I breathe a sigh of relief when I notice that it was just a body that slid down from the top of the pile. Fuck man, that scared the shit out of me. I turn back to walk out again and I run right into one of the zombies that was chained up. I quickly push him back before he grabs a hold of me. How the hell did this happen? Behind the zombie coming towards me I notice the other two shuffling their feet in my direction too. I take a few steps back to get my distance and this undead sack of flesh raises its hands to grab me and that's when I notice that these fuckers chewed their own thumbs off. That's how they were able to get out of the chains. She was right, they are getting smarter. I stab the zombie right in the head and it falls to the ground like a ton of bricks. The other two come following behind and the block me into the room. I pull my wooden spear out from the zombie's head and start walking back towards the corner of the room. The two zombies stop and look down at their fallen "comrade" and start turning around and shuffling away. They're scared. They're scared to die.....again.

A Dark Day: Part VIII

She attacks me and pushes me back against the wall. All I can do is hold her back while she tries to claw at me. This woman went from zero to crazy in a snap. I guess deep down she knows that no one is coming back for her. She's a sad, pathetic woman with too much hope. I quickly grab one of her arms, slide under it and push her face first into the wall. She tries to turn her body around to get to me but I continue to keep her still and away from me. "Calm down! What the hell are you doing?!" I exclaim. She squirms loose from my grip and jumps onto me knocking us both over a desk in the room. She starts trying to bite at me but I stop her every time. She's acting like a damn rabid dog. I'm holding her head back and I can see the rage in her eyes. I grab a handful of her hair and ram her bloody stump of an ear right into the side of the desk. She screams of agony continue to get louder and louder as I keep ramming her head into the desk. She grabs her head in pain as if she's about to rip it off of her shoulders. Blood starts to gush out of the wrapped up wound and as she screams and we tussle on the floor the chained up zombies begin to moan and yank on the chains. I get up to my feet and grab her from the back of her lab coat and yank. Maybe a little too hard. She flies back and I lose grip of her coat and she falls at the feet of the chained up zombies. She barely makes it to one knee when one of the zombies grabs her and sinks its teeth into her shoulder. She let's out a painful scream and the next zombie grabs her arm and takes bite. "No! No! No!" Is all she screams, as if the zombies understand or if they would even want to if they could. I just stand there and watch as they tear her body apart and rip flesh from her piece by piece. Each of the four zombies now have a piece of this woman and each have flesh hanging from their decomposed mouths. Now she's nothing more than a memory.....almost like she never existed. All that's left is a half of her torso and a whole lot of blood. I realized just now that I never knew her name. I think I'll call her Mrs. Cunningham.......I really liked Happy Days too.

A Dark Day: Part VII

As we walk down the long corridor its looking less and less like a hospital and becoming more and more like a slaughterhouse. I look to my right and see nothing but bodies hanging from meat hooks. I look to my left and see piles upon piles of bodies on the floor. Their chests ripped open as if they had been picked apart by vultures. I continue to push this bleeding woman down the hallway. I can start to hear a faint voice. As we continue to walk the voice becomes more and more prominent. "The Pastor!" the woman says. I grab her and cover her mouth with my hand and lean up against the wall as I make my way closer to the voice. I reached a doorway to the room that the voice was coming from. All I kept hearing a was a very southern accent and he was preaching, like he was preaching to a mass amount of people. "Follow me to salvation! I will guide you to the promised land! Give your body and soul to me and I will show you the way!" The voice continued to say. As I peeked in, the room was completely empty. No one in sight whatsoever. I let go of the woman's mouth and walked into the dimly lit room. The voice was coming from a small radio in the room and sounded like a continuous loop. I turn off the radio and start to hear moans coming from the dark end of the room. I flip a light switch and see four zombies chained up against the wall. They lay their eyes on me and being to moan and groan viciously like I'm prime rib. These zombies look different than the others. They almost look malnourished, well I guess as malnourished as a walking copse can get. Its like they've been starved. "What's going on in here?" I ask her. "We have to run tests on them. All kinds of tests. This one in particular is a starvation test. We are trying to see how long these things will continue to exist without any kind of nutrition." She explains. "How long has it been?" I ask. She walks over to a clipboard and looks over some of the papers. "Its been five days." She says. "You mean these things could possibly starve and die off and this'll all be over?!" I ask. "Possibly but its only been 5 days. Further testing is still needed. For all we know these things could go on forever without eating a single thing since they have no working internal organs at all." She tells me. "And this Pastor guy, some rouge Jesus freak?" I ask her as she goes through more paperwork in binders. "The Pastor is the man that's going to save this world with his research. He is going to cleanse the world of all of its impurities and rebuild the world to the way it SHOULD be. We will repopulate the world and the children I produce will be pure." She tells me with an insane look on her face. Its almost as if she has been trained or brainwashed to repeat her little speech. I go ahead and decide to ask her the million dollar question while she's looking through more paperwork. "If he's going to save this world and protect you to continue life here then where is this asshole?" She stares down at her binder for a minute and then drops it to the floor. "What's wrong? Strike a nerve?" I ask her. She then looks at me, let's out a blood-curdling scream and charges at me with nothing to lose.

A Dark Day: Part VI

I let her go and have her choose her own destiny. For a moment she has a look on her face like she's going to do something stupid but then that quickly turns to the realization that she would die if she did. Deep down even the most confident and strong willed individual is scared to die. I remember being five years old and me and my dad going into town to get sour gummy straws. He was the bravest and strongest man I've ever known. There was nothing that he was afraid of. We crossed the street back to the car that day and all I heard were tires squealing and felt a shove that threw me right across the street. When I looked back I saw my dad, on the floor and laying in a pool of blood. I ran to him and the look on his face is one that I would never forget. My dad, the bravest and strongest man I had ever known was scared, scared of death. He said nothing at all. The look was enough. Even being five years old I just knew that everyone was vulnerable. No one was stronger than death. Slowly but surely I looked on as my fathers light went out.
The woman throws me the keys. She made the smart choice. I unlock all my chains and walk over to her. "Come on" I tell her as I help her to her feet. I take her over to the table she was at earlier. There is a decomposed arm on the table with pins and needles in it. Looks like she was doing some tests. I grab a few gauzes and some tape out of the cabinet above and apply them to her wound. She's as good as new now, well as good as a woman with her ear chopped off can get. "They are getting smarter" she tells me as we walk out of the room cautiously. "What the hell are you talking about?" I ask. "The Pastor has been studying them since the outbreak first became apparent. They are getting smarter. They retain a bit of their old life apparently and build on that. Its like muscle memory, if you do things a certain amount of times then you'll never forget how to do them. This is exactly what's happening here but on a larger scale. Didn't you notice that they were suddenly gone when you decided to investigate the area outside of your trailer? They were stalking you, just like an animal stalks its prey. They were waiting and in hiding until you were your most vulnerable." She explains. I still don't understand how that could happen. I look at her confused but intrigued. "How long have you been in that trailer?" She asks me. "For about 14 days I think" I tell her. "That's 12 days too long. They know you, your habits, your patterns. You're lucky you're still alive right now." She says.